Although it was already noon, the sunshine in April felt gentle and soft.
Golden rays of sunlight pierced through the glass and scattered atop Kazuki and Aoki Hidehiro, creating a picturesque scene.
One spoke with sincerity while the other listened intently.
The sweet melody in the café along with Aoki Hidehiro's voice seemed to have carried the two five years back, at Akichi High School.
Aoki Hidehiro was not done with his storytelling; he remembered everything. After all, high school was the most important three years in a person's life, where a big part of their future was determined.
Those were also the three years full of rebellion and youth.
"There would always come a time where people get tired of a game. At first, Takashima Izumi's goal in playing the game was to see what kind of reaction he could stir from ignoring Ito Shunji. But it seemed that he didn't even care about the game, he even went along with it, and soon Takashima Izumi lost interest in it. The only problem was that it stuck with everyone and they just continued ignoring him."
Aoki Hidehiro took a small sip from his cup. His voice puzzled, he continued, "This game lasted for an entire year. Just when I thought, Takashima Izumi had completely lost interest in the game… He suddenly began to loathe Ito Shunji."
"Sudden loath?" Confusion flashed through Kazuki's eyes. He silently noted that this was a critical point. There had to be a reason if a person has a sudden change in the way they feel towards another.
"That's right when school reopened the following year, Takashima Izumi developed a strong disgust toward Ito Shunji. But because his character has always been more on the violent side, I didn't find it weird. I just thought maybe Ito Shunji got on his bad side." At this point, Aoki Hidehiro's voice lowered, his irises trembling in what seemed to be fear. "It's just that… I did not think Takashima Izumi would do such a thing, let alone have that kind of disease."
This change in topic tickled at Kazuki's curiosity. He pressed, "What disease?"
"AIDS!"
This one exclamation was very low, almost inaudible.
Although soft, Kazuki heard it clearly. His heart skipped a beat.
AIDS? AIDS?!
"How did you know?" Kazuki squinted in slight suspicion. People would not normally speak out about this kind of private matters. Even if it was to someone close, it was unlikely that they learned from the person himself. Not to mention Aoki Hidehiro, who was only a mere underling of Takashima Izumi.
This disease… Many are ashamed even to admit they have it. In the eyes of the public, it represents a chaotic private life and is looked down upon by others.
"I found out on one of the few nights after school reopened." It was evident that Aoki Hidehiro did not remember the exact date it happened, but the situation at hand was obviously still fresh in his mind.
Following Aoki Hidehiro's explanation, Kazuki developed a deeper understanding of the events at Akichi High School.
According to Aoki Hidehiro, when the school first reopened, he would hide behind the sports equipment store to make calls. After all, being a strict closed school, phones had to be turned in if discovered.
One night, right as he finished a call, he witnessed Takashima Izumi dragging a girl into the Sports Centre. Then, he became an unfortunate witness to a shocking scene!
Takashima Izumi did not hesitate to pollute the girl. However, that was not quite as shocking. What genuinely shocked Aoki Hidehiro was Takashima Izumi's next statement.
He told the girl whom he polluted that he had AIDS, and since now she had been stained, she would fall victim to the incurable disease as well.
After that, under the influence of her negative emotions, Takashima Izumi convinced the girl to approach Ito Shunji to pass the disease to him! As long as she accomplishes her task, he would hand her a considerable sum of cash.
Taking in his newfound discovery, Kazuki could not conceal the shiver running down his spine. Wasn't this precisely what Ito Shunji had told him?
He recalled that Ito Shunji had claimed that he also witnessed Takashima Izumi pollute a girl, and she was Ito Shunji's crush.
Since Aoki Hidehiro knew that Takashima Izumi was diagnosed with AIDS, it made no sense that Ito Shunji did not know. Then why did he try to hide it? Was this only the surface? Are there more secrets to uncover?
After some thought, Kazuki concluded that the events at Akichi High School were as if it was blanketed under a thick layer of fog. The only way to find out the complete truth was to disperse this layer of dense fog.
"That girl, did she end up following Takashima Izumi's orders?" Kazuki asked.
"Nope. A few days after what happened, she transferred," Aoki Hidehiro sighed, "To this day, I still do not know her name."
Transferring was the right choice. Because the infection of AIDS also held a certain probability, and it was highly unlikely to be affected on the first time. Even if one did get infected, it was possible to cure it by taking medication. But this was not public information that most people knew of, not to mention high school students, who did not have sufficient understanding of such knowledge. So for the girl to remain calm and transfer, it was considered a wise move.
As for why she did not try to resist, it could be because Takashima Izumi's father was on the school's board of governors. This was one of the reasons he could be so arrogant and smug at Akichi High School.
There was still another possibility, where he did stir up big trouble but was tamed.
Of course, the reason behind Takashima Izumi's lunatic behavior could also be linked to him suffering from AIDS. After all, he would die sooner or later, so why not do everything he otherwise would not have dared to? So Akichi High School became a place where he was able to have things his way.
As he thought of this, Kazuki nodded to himself. He then looked up at Aoki Hidehiro and slowly said, "One last question. When you took that medical leave, were you really sick or was that just an excuse?"
Hearing this, Aoki Hidehiro fell silent. After a while, he sighed loudly, "It was fake! I heard someone say that Takashima Izumi wanted to gather people at the Sports Centre and teach Ito Shunji a lesson. I didn't want to be part of it, so I took a leave. In fact, I was done dealing with that kind of high school life, plus we were progressing into Third Year, and I wanted to focus on studying. I didn't want to hang out with Takashima Izumi anymore… I just didn't think that…"
Aoki Hidehiro's voice trailed off, a mixture of terror and relief flashing in his eyes. Relief that he took leave on that fateful day. Otherwise, the entire Class Four would have been wiped off the face of the earth.
Kazuki silently noted the emotions burning in Aoki Hidehiro's eyes. It was clear that Aoki Hidehiro was not the person who locked the door. However, he still asked, "When you were in the bedroom, was there anyone else?"
Aoki Hidehiro shook his head, "There were none from my class, obviously, but there were a few from other classes."
From what he had heard, Kazuki concluded that Aoki Hidehiro was innocent. Although it was only one side of the story, the sincerity in his voice and his unchanging emotions led him to believe that he did not lie.
Pausing his train of thoughts, Kazuki smiled politely, "Aoki-Kun, is there anything else that you know?"
Aoki Hidehiro scratched the back of his head. He replied, "Nope, that's all I know. But if you'd like to find out more, you can meet our class teacher then, called Nishiyama Chiyoko. She was close to Takashima Izumi, maybe she might know more about this?"
Nishiyama Chiyoko…
Kazuki repeated in his mind.